Rollerball (1975) (Blu-ray)

(Twilight Time, 5.13.2014)

On paper, Rollerball sounds like a fascinating film. In a future where corporations have taken the place of countries (sound familiar?), the public becomes obsessed with an ultra-violent variation on roller derby. While the sport itself fuels several memorable sequences, Jewison and screenwriter William Harrison make some problematic decisions as far as character, theme, and tone are concerned. James Caan plays Jonathan E., a superstar rollerballer who pouts and self-pities his way through the movie, discussing his inner turmoil -- and, by extension, the film’s themes -- where he would be better served to pursue an external objective.

Since this protagonist is extremely passive, the film feels curiously inert whenever we’re outside the arena. Even worse, Jewison embraces a heavy-handed tonal approach that makes for something too uniformly dystopian. He’s making valid points about the world we live in, but he’s also overlooking his responsibilities as a dramatist. Since we’re never really told what the people in this futuristic society want out of life, it’s impossible to connect on an emotional level. The result is an intriguing exercise in detachment, but one that falls short of its considerable potential.

As always with Twilight Time, this Blu-ray is limited to 3,000 copies, available exclusively through Screen Archives and the TCM store. With the exception of the isolated score, it seems that all of the extras have been carried over from earlier editions. This film was first released on DVD in 1998 with an 8-minute featurette from the ’70s (From Rome to Rollerball: The Full Circle) and a commentary by Jewison, both of which are included here. All these years later, Jewison’s commentary remains relevant and highly engaging. An extremely passionate speaker, he thoroughly explores the film’s production and its political perspective. While listening, just keep reminding yourself that this was recorded in 1997, as many of the issues Jewison discusses have grown far more complicated in the intervening 17 years.

Additional extras include a commentary by writer William Harrison (who died in October) that was previously available on a region 2 DVD from 2005, the trailer, TV spots, and Return to the Arena: The Making of Rollerball, a 25-minute featurette that was produced some time after the 1998 DVD. The focus of this doc is the struggle to define the sport itself, as it was very loosely sketched in Harrison’s short story. Whatever the film’s shortcomings, this sport emerges as a fascinating creation -- and this doc explains how that came about. We also learn that Caan’s experience making Brian’s Song helped get him inside the head of a bruised and battered athlete.

While Rollerball is not without its weaknesses, this is an undeniably thought-provoking and original film. Best of all, this new Blu-ray rescues the film from the murky presentation found on earlier DVDs, revealing the film to be something more polished than those discs would suggest, in spite of Jewison’s ragged, undisciplined aesthetic. Still, you can’t help but wonder what this might have been in the hands of a director with a more all-encompassing command of the medium. -- Jonathan Doyle